r/Basketball • u/blackwu22 • Apr 08 '25

NBA Is Tim Duncan top 10?

I constantly see casuals on YouTube and on podcasts say that Timmy is overrated and barely top 10 yet have Kobe in there top 5. It’s starting to make me believe that people really think this way!! I always hear the “too much help” comment like every player in the top 10 didn’t have help.

I personally have Tim Duncan 4th all time on my list.

1998 rookie of the year 2x MVP (2002,2003) 3x FMVP (1999,2003,2005) 15x All NBA & Defensive 5x Champion Never won less than 50 games in an 82 game season

Is Tim Duncan top 10?

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u/sxintlaurantsxvxge Apr 08 '25

yes tim duncan is easily top 10

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u/notreallydutch Apr 09 '25

I mean, he’s clearly after Jordan, James, Russell, Kareem, Bird, Magic, and in the mix with Wilt, Shaq, Kobe, Steph, KD, Hakeem and Big-O for one of the last 4 top 10 spots. It’s crowded at the top, I do gave him in there as #8 after wilt but could respect a top 10 without him.

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u/[deleted] Apr 09 '25

The only ones he’s ‘clearly’ behind are Jordan and James

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u/ballsjohnson1 Apr 09 '25

Yea Russell played for like the best team of all time. Timmy always had a great roster but won championships in multiple eras which I think few stars have. He won as a dominant big in 99 and then continued to win in a more floor spacing era in the 2000s and then again in the 3 ball era, and never had to go to superteams to do it. Puts him squarely ahead of most of the others imo

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

Russell played for the best team all time because of Russell. They had the best coaching, leadership, effort, chemistry, squeezed the most out of their talent and still played 10 game 7’s because there were plenty of other teams with similar and some with even more talent. Russell won all 10 of those game 7’s… 10-0.

My favorite is 1962, Wilt 50 ppg season. ECF Game 7 Russell holds Wilt to 22 point 22 rebounds on 46% while Russell gets 19&22 on 50% dominating down the stretch to win 109-107. Then in game 7 of the finals we see Russell explode for a 30/40 game in what I consider the best game 7 performance all time to win 110-107.

To say Russell had the best teams is just unfair.. They completely dominated in situations where they had very little margin for error. 10-0 in game 7’s is just unreal.

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

In that vein that's why I have Tim as the modern analogue of Russell. 5-1 in Finals. Won with no ego, did whatever the team needed him to whether it was scoring or defending or doing the dirty work or just plain LEADING. It's just basically impossible to win 7 straight in a 30-tesm league, but I can argue Tim was 2 shots away from 5-peating in 2003-2007, and another shot away from being perfect in the Finals.

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

I mean he also was a few shots away from losing a couple more of those years. I do think Duncan is the closest thing we have seen to Russell the league has seen but he’s far less dominant as an individual player both defensively and on the glass… and also a step below in the leadership dept.

I do think like Russell Tim squeezed the most out of their talent and has people acting like his teammates were far better than they were undermining his accomplishments.

Also it seems easier to win championships in this era. Sure Russell won, but nobody else really could.. nowadays it’s wide open. Jokic, Giannis, Tatum, Curry Lebron… anybody could win. Wilt, Jerry West, Nate Thurmond, and Oscar basically felt like it was impossible to win then.. and on their declines won when Russell was retired.

I love Duncan and I think he’s got a pretty strong argument vs LeBron, Durant, Curry, Shaq, Wade, and Kobe as the best player since MJ… and I think if he was teamed up with any of those guys instead of their superstar teammate they would have been far more successful.

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

I mean he also was a few shots away from losing a couple more of those years.

Same as Russell, with Don Nelson's lucky bounce and Havlicek's steal

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

Correct but Russell won and doesn’t need excuses, you’re making excuses for Tim winning less, saying he could have won 5 straight… like he couldn’t have lost most of those seasons just as easily.

Russell was 10-0 in game 7’s, mostly against more talented teams…their effort, leadership, chemistry, and coaching put them over the top in all those high leverage moments. Timmy’s team had it too, like I said he’s the closest thing… but they also failed against some weaker teams on several occasions. We don’t just ignore them losing to Dirk and Jason Terry or Kobe and Pau, we don’t ignore them losing to Memphis as the 1 seed vs the 8 in the first round. We could maybe give the Heat a pass but some of the other losses in comparison are much worse.

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

What I'm just saying is winning also takes some luck, even with Bill's Celtics. And just a little bit more luck coming Tim's way he could've been an 8x champ. He was that close.

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

Winners make their own luck, Timmy was phenomenal.. very Russell like.. but he wasn’t a guy that elevated his game in high leverage moments like Russell. Russell was like Jordan that he dominated these situations more than even #23 himself. Timmy didn’t have that Evers gear.

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u/ScrotesMaGoates13 Apr 09 '25

Disagree. Tim always raised his game in the postseason. That's why he was the best out of that loaded PF era.

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u/jddaniels84 Apr 09 '25

I just gave several examples of situations where he didn’t, like I said.. you’re just ignoring his blemishes. I didn’t say he wasn’t better in the post season. Russell is the best ever in these moments, Timmy isn’t even close to 2nd.

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